The Baltimore Sun reported that African penguins are actually scared of the water and are given baths of lukewarm water and swimming lessons after birth by zoo keepers at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
For more than three decades the Maryland Zoo, according to the Baltimore Sun, has one of the largest breeding colonies in the country for endangered African Penguins with fifty-five to sixty-five birds living at the moat-enclosed area known as Rock Island.
On the edge of extinction African penguins have declined in numbers and even fewer of them now are estimated to be breeding pairs. Up until the 1960s humans considered African penguin eggs a delicacy and scooped them up by the millions. Their habitat has been destroyed by commerce and oil spills and their food has been diminishing due to overfishing and climate change.
A species survival plan to map out breeding has been developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums while scientists and conservation groups try to stabilize the population. The Maryland Zoo keeps breeding pairs on hand and distributes other penguins to zoos for display or breeding.
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